So every year around this time, we here at GolfStinks review the results of golf polls we’ve conducted in the previous year. From asking how often you throw your clubs (2010) to answering the question “is golf a sport” (2011), we have started some interesting debates!

Well, in 2012 we posed a whole new set of golf-related questions and the results from five of those polls are below. See how golfers voted:

In November of 2012, Stinky Golfer Greg announced his irons were getting on in age…8 seasons on to be exact. Was that too long? He wanted to know how often you get new clubs. Well, 30% of you get new sticks every 4-5 years, while 23% get them every 2-3 years. No one said they got new clubs every year, but 45% wait at least 6 years or longer (in fact, 15% hang on to the same set for 10 years or more)! I guess Greg has a couple more years to go!

Around the same time the golfing world was debating the new belly putter rule, we wanted to know if the type of putter really matters from a technical stand point, or is putter style a matter of personal taste? Well, 40% of you said the type of putter one uses doesn’t matter – if you practice, you can putt with any of them! On the other hand, 31% said the technology and design of putters does make a difference in putting ability. Meanwhile, 28% claimed that while all putters are basically the same, the look and feel of a putter can make a mental difference while putting. Hmm, very interesting.

Back in June, we wanted to know how much you spend on a set of irons. This was a tight race, but edging all the others was the price range of $300-$600 (32%). Nearly as many of you (29%) are frugal and spend less than $300 on your clubs. But almost as many (27%) have deeper pockets and spend between $601-$900! Finally, while only 2% of you spend between $901-$1,200, 8% spend over $1,200! Anyway, it looks like $600 or less is the happy zone for most golfers.

More recently, we asked you how many rounds of golf you play in a season. Well, 35% said they play between 26-50 rounds annually, while 27% play between 10-25 times a year. Meanwhile, 10% play between 51-75 times and 16% play between 76-100 times annually. Just 8% play less than 10 times a year but only 2% play over 100 rounds in a season. On a side note, the number of rounds per year in the U.S. has actually been going up.

Our final poll was from last May and asked golfers how many balls they lose (on average) per round. The majority of you (51%) admit to losing 1 sleeve or 3 balls per round! Twelve percent of you are good enough (or are good enough liars) to not lose any! How about 2 sleeves (6 balls)? That would be 28% of you! Three sleeves (9 balls)??? Yep – 6% of you! One entire box of 12 balls???? Just 1% of you. No wonder golf balls are the number one thing left behind at the golf course!

We at GolfStinks sure are looking forward to the 2013 polls! Stay tuned…